1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a self-lighting cigarette that includes an ignition tip that may be ignited by stroking across a striking pad.
2. Description of Related Art
Cigarettes manufactured by most manufacturers and include a cigarette paper surrounding treated tobacco and may include a filter at one end thereof. At the non-filtered end of the cigarette an individual applies fire in the form of a match or a cigarette lighter in order to ignite the cigarette for smoking purposes. Although the renowned method of enjoying cigarettes includes the use of a lighter or match it would be advantageous to have a cigarette that came equipped with an igniting substance in order to ignite the cigarette therefore alleviating the necessity of a match or a cigarette lighter.
The prior art includes examples of self-igniting or self-lighting cigarettes which include tips that have been developed to include an ignitable composition. U.S. Pat. No. 1,815,162 discloses a cigarette that includes an igniting band wrapped around the outer edge of the cigarette tip. The igniting band disclosed in the '162 patent requires adhesive to attach the igniting band to the outside of the wrapper and thus increases the circumference of the cigarette at the tip thereof therefore requiring larger size packaging.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,080,536 discloses a cigarette that includes a series of igniting plugs along the outside perimeter edge of the tip of the cigarette. These igniting plugs may be stroked against the striking surface in order to ignite the cigarette for smoking purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,273,568 discloses a cigarette that includes a self-igniting paper member that extends from the tip of the cigarette that provides a striking member to ignite the cigarette. The striking member is manufactured of a higher weight of paper and is adhered to the outer surface of the cigarette paper that holds the tobacco of the cigarette.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,665 discloses yet another exemplary cigarette with a striking surface where a match is adhesively attached to the tip of the cigarette with a striking portion provided under a lip of the tip of the cigarette. The match and striking portion are therefore self-contained in the tip of the cigarette.
The self-striking cigarettes of the prior art include various complications to the sizing of the cigarette and in some cases additional paper or special cutting of the cigarette paper associated with the cigarette. These complications make the self-lighting cigarettes impractical for mass production. It was therefore be advantageous to develop a self-striking cigarette that overcomes some of the problems associated with the prior art.